Dzanc's BOTW 2008

Matt Bell is the author of the forthcoming short-story collection, How They Were Found. He edits the literary journal The Collagist and is serving as the 2009 editor of Dzanc Books’ Best of the Web series. Matt took time from his busy schedule to talk with us about writing, literary magazines, and what his future has in store. We’d like to thank Matt — for this interview and his contribution to the literary community. Now, go on with ya and read this post. It’s the online equivalent of literary street cred.

Dark Sky Magazine: You are editing Dzanc Books’ Best of the Web series. Talk a little bit about this, about Dzanc Books and its purpose.

Matt Bell: Dzanc Books’ Best of the Web series is a yearly anthology compiling the best fiction, poetry, and non-fiction published in online literary journals. Now beginning its third year, the mission of the Best of the Web series is to promote and expand the reach and prestige of online literature by offering this annual glimpse into the best writing the internet has to offer.
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We All Drink From The Same Cup

We all envy someone or something at some time or another. It’s natural. But what you envy, and your expression of it, sheds light on your person. It reveals your character. In this past week Dan Brown’s novel sold over a million copies. And that’s despite the book’s being lambasted by nearly every credible critic in the literary land. We are not defending Brown’s prose. Frankly, it’s rubbish. But we do question the motivation behind the more scathing denouncements. Is it envy of Brown’s ability to sell his work that stirs critics so, or are critics simply looking out for the good of the reading public? Either way, the Ethiopian Review has compiled a list of Brown’s 20 worst sentences. At the very least it gives fledgling writers hope. Envy is one thing. Death is another. It waits for us all. The Walrus examines the meaning of our fate. The Dayton Literary Peace Prize announced its winners yesterday. Euripides is the grandfather of macabre. But did his work inspire rock ‘n roll? Speaking of music, it’s Bruce Sprinsteen’s birthday. And the old troubadour is still at it. The New Yorker is blogging all of its archives, the poet C.P. Cavafy is reviewed in The Critical Flame, and Iowa City remains high on the literary totem pole. It’s enough to make you envious. But fear not, gentle reader. Dark Sky Magazine envies right along with you. — Kevin Murphy

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I peel a quiet fruit while walking
into a mean southern wind;
I pretend I am a traveling massif,
grassy but strangely human.
Moist and sensational,
the fruit tendrils
adhere to my thumbs
like ridiculous little tails.
Amplifying its particled self,
the wind shoves the fruit
from my hand and asks me where I was
before God put on my bones.

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Seth Berg snagged an MFA in poetry from Bowling Green State University in 2003 and has been teaching composition and other tasty stuff ever since. His poems have appeared in Connecticut Review, Lake Effect, Chiron Review, JMWW, 13th Warrior Review, BlazeVOX, and Stitches as well as others. He lives in Saint Paul, Minnesota with his rawkin’ photographer wife and their ten-year-old English Bulldog, Bob.

We Like Our Single Serving Friends

We return to the East Coast and leave behind the cozy confines of vacation. Vashon Island and Seattle are impressive. Jet lag and delayed planes are not. However, so many idle airport hours present plenty of catch up time for our reading. We looked around and identified copious copies of Dan Brown’s latest novel, and on the TV screens plenty of football players danced about, but Al Jazeera, Robert Kaplan’s favorite station, was conspicuously absent. We read in the New Yorker of executed prisoner Todd Willingham’s tragic story, which we are growing more accustomed to: Law enforcement taking too long to come around to important evidence. Teddy Kennedy memorial issues lined the Sea-Tac Airport, although said magazines did not endorse him as a Victorian protagonist. Finally, the Sydney Morning Herald debate between Art and Darwinism is a fascinating conversation. Go read it while we catch up on sleep.  – Andrew Geer

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The Eternal Ball Breaker

The idea of what we will be remembered for has varying effects on us. For some people, leaving a memorable legacy is the eternal trophy, the ultimate prize. But why? Is vanity so potent it encourages people to want things even when they won’t be able to enjoy them? Perhaps so. A man looks in the mirror and makes an arrangement: “OK, if I can’t be immortal, my reputation will be.” Fair enough. That said, let’s take a closer look at what legacy means by considering today’s literature news. Die young and write well and your legacy will burn for years. James Agee knows. So does Steve Earle, even though he’s still breathing. Presidents are destined, one way or another, for scrutinized legacies. What will Health Care Reform do for Obama’s? Books made into movies usually bode unwell over time. Coetzee’s Disgrace will avoid such a fate. Calls for Bob Dylan to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature are sounded in Sweden; the spooky, classic stories of H.H. Munro are discussed in The Guardian; Google is not yet the globe’s digital library, and Germany is on a book festival high. Finally, Book Patrol remembers the late great billiards man Minnesota Fats, a hustler whose legacy will break your balls. — Kevin Murphy

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